Curation

Jean Andrews Shell Collection

An incoming donation of 18,000 specimens..in shoe boxes

The research project results in many new specimens for the collection. They arrive at NPL with varying levels of curation. They may carry field numbers linked to collection sites, they may have been given unique collection numbers but their arrival is not the end of their curation.

Each specimen is accessioned into the collection. All specimens are given unique numbers, these are usually carefully written onto the specimen itself, each specimen is imaged and then placed in a suitable container together with a computer generated label based on data previously entered into the database.

If the specimens lacks identification efforts are made to identify it. We rely upon visiting experts in different paleontologic areas to provide refinement for these basic identifications.

Much of this collection carries old taxonomic designations and we are always striving to update those.